Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946-

Francis P. McManamon examines the origins of the Antiquities Act of 1906 that President Theodore Roosevelt and his successors used to safeguard natural and scientific sites across the United States. McManamon asserts that it was threats to ancient archaeological sites across the American Southwest that led to calls for greater government intervention, and he highlights the case of the Casa Grande ruins in Arizona. McManamon notes the work of private organizations, government agencies, individuals, and members of Congress, most importantly Congressman John F. Lacey of Iowa, who worked to save important sites before the passage of the Antiquities Act. McManamon traces the slow path to passage of the Antiquities Act, and he highlights its important text and provisions. He notes how Roosevelt used the act to set aside eighteen national monuments, and he asserts that Roosevelt’s actions, especially in regards to the Grand Canyon of Arizona, set important precedents for his successors, especially President Bill Clinton.  

Two photographs and two illustrations supplement the text. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Tweed Roosevelt recounts his role, beginning in the fall of 1998, to secure the Medal of Honor for Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt admits that he was initially skeptical about the effort, but he decided to volunteer and became a lobbyist to secure passage of the necessary enabling legislation. Roosevelt highlights the various members of the House and Senate who helped secure the bill’s passage, highlighting the roles of Congressmen Rick A. Lazio, Paul F. McHale, Steven E. Buyer, and especially, Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota. He also notes how the bill’s passage was threatened by the impeachment proceedings swirling around President Bill Clinton. Roosevelt describes several White House visits, including meetings with Clinton and President George W. Bush.

Twelve photographs appear in the article, nine of which include Tweed Roosevelt, and three each featuring Clinton and Bush. A Frederic Remington painting, a letter, and two documents related to the conferral of the Medal of Honor also accompany the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2009-10-24

David G. Haglund notes that American presidents are often not popular in Canada, and he asserts that Theodore Roosevelt is especially disliked because of the perception of him as a unilateralist and because of the outcome of the Alaska boundary dispute in 1903. Haglund argues that Roosevelt’s bad reputation in Canada is undeserved because for the first time in American history the United States actually grew smaller as a result of its concessions in the boundary dispute. Haglund says Canada feels aggrieved because of Great Britain’s desire to draw closer to the United States at Canada’s expense.  Haglund writes that Canada’s embrace of Franklin D. Roosevelt while scorning his distant cousin is the result of a “fundamental misperception.”

A map of the Alaska-Canada boundary dispute and two photographs supplement the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2008

William N. Tilchin organizes, explains, and defends the diplomacy of President Theodore Roosevelt. Tilchin lays out the three guiding principles of Roosevelt’s foreign policy: that the United States needs to engage with the global community; that power must be behind the nation’s diplomacy; and the United States should cultivate a close relationship with Great Britain. Tilchin also examines Roosevelt’s style of diplomacy with an emphasis on his personal direction and informality, and he describes the precepts of “big stick diplomacy.” Tilchin also divides Roosevelt’s foreign policy into three periods during his presidency, and he cites specific examples of Roosevelt’s management of various crises and events from the acquisition of the Panama Canal to the voyage of the Great White Fleet. Tilchin highlights Roosevelt’s careful and continual cultivation of a relationship with Great Britain, and he examines Roosevelt’s legacy by looking at the foreign policy undertaken by succeeding administrations in the twentieth century. 

Photographs of Roosevelt as assistant secretary of the navy, army officer, and president appear in the text as does a photograph of Secretary of State George P. Schultz.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Char Miller opens and concludes his biography of Gifford Pinchot by asserting that the contemporary Republican Party under President George W. Bush has abandoned the conservation legacy the party built under Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt. Miller looks at the evolution of Pinchot’s beliefs, extending back to his grandparents, and he demonstrates how Pinchot moved further to the left during the course of his career. By the time of the second Roosevelt presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt,  Pinchot had undergone a “radicalization” that called for the seizure of private forest lands. Miller highlights some of the individuals who worked with or against Pinchot in his forestry career.

Thirteen photographs supplement the text, including two of Theodore Roosevelt and six of Pinchot. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2007

John A. Gable asserts that Theodore Roosevelt’s record as a conservationist and an environmentalist has not been adequately explored by historians and biographers, and he notes the work of Tweed Roosevelt in trying to correct this shortcoming. Gable also argues that Roosevelt, a man of many seeming contradictions, was both a use-conservationist and a preservationist when it came to natural resources, and he quotes Theodore Roosevelt and cites examples from his record as president to bolster his argument. The section also includes a text box with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt, an announcement about the establishment of the Theodore Roosevelt Center for American Civilization at Tulane University, and information about the 2005 annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association.

The article includes ten photographs of Gable with various figures, including three Presidents of the United States–Jimmy Carter, George Bush, and George W. Bush.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2004-10-23

John A. Gable reviews the second volume of Edmund Morris’s biography of Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Rex. Gable notes the literary character of the work, and he argues that Henry F. Pringle’s biography of Roosevelt is still read not because of its judgments, but because it is well written. Gable also compares Morris’s book to those of Lewis L. Gould and William Henry Harbaugh, and he quotes from several reviews of Theodore Rex in leading newspapers and magazines. Gable singles out the critical review of Christine Stansell, and he rebuffs some of her arguments by quoting from a response he wrote to her review. Gable concludes his essay by noting that many reviewers found parallels between the events of September 11, 2001 and the assassination of President William McKinley in September 1901. 

A photograph of Roosevelt, two of Morris, and a text box advertising a CD-ROM published by the Theodore Roosevelt Association appear in the review.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Jack C. Fisher, a medical doctor, examines the misguided treatment of President William McKinley following the attempt on his life on September 6, 1901. Fisher notes that Vice President Theodore Roosevelt and Secretary of State John Hay both had premonitions that McKinley would not survive, and he traces Roosevelt’s movements in the days surrounding the assassination. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2002

Creator(s)

Fisher, Jack C., 1937-

David Sarasohn describes how both Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton looked to Theodore Roosevelt for inspiration and as someone to emulate. Sarasohn also asserts that Roosevelt’s reputation has risen in recent decades because Roosevelt seems perfectly suited to the modern age of politics with its emphasis on images and sound bites, both of which Roosevelt mastered in his own time. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2002

Creator(s)

Sarasohn, David

Report on the presentation of Theodore Roosevelt’s Medal of Honor by Tweed Roosevelt to President George W. Bush for permanent display at the White House. The report notes the long effort to secure the medal for Colonel Roosevelt, and it lists some of the key members of Congress who helped secure legislation enabling the conferring of the medal. The report notes the national tour made by Roosevelt’s medal, and it highlights the remarks made by Tweed Roosevelt and Bush at the ceremony. It lists the twenty-two members of the Roosevelt family and sixteen members of the Theodore Roosevelt Association who attended the White House ceremony. 

A photograph of Tweed Roosevelt and Bush accompanies the text. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Three biographies–of Holt Collier, Theodore Roosevelt, and Gifford Pinchot–come under scrutiny in the “Reviews” section along with a play and documentary about Roosevelt. Tweed Roosevelt finds the biography of Holt Collier, who led Theodore Roosevelt’s famous 1902 bear hunt, notable for its descriptions of slavery in antebellum Mississippi, but he finds its coverage of Roosevelt flawed. Gregory A. Wynn recommends Kathleen Dalton’s biography Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenuous Life for its coverage of Roosevelt’s life after the presidency, its recognition of the important influence women had on his life, and for making Roosevelt “a hero for liberals.” The section also contains an excerpt of a review of Dalton’s work from Kirkus Reviews. 

Gary A. Clinton admires Laurence Luckinbill’s play Teddy Tonight for capturing the spirit of Roosevelt in his own words, and he finds that it resonates in a nation reeling from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. A review of The History Channel’s documentary TR: An American Lion lists the “talking head” historians who appear in the film along with members of the Roosevelt family. The review highlights the negative coverage given Roosevelt’s attitudes on race and imperialism, and it praises the actors who provide the film’s narration and voice of Roosevelt. The section concludes with excerpts from four positive reviews of Char Miller’s biography of Gifford Pinchot.

Three photographs appear in the section, including a picture of two cast members of TR: An American Lion.

Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association John A. Gable appears in a photograph with President George W. Bush and his wife First Lady Laura Welch Bush at the White House. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2002-11-13

Creator(s)

Unknown

The front cover of this issue features a photograph of President Theodore Roosevelt speaking in Evanston, Illinois, in 1903 while the back cover has a photograph of Tweed Roosevelt and other members of the Roosevelt family with President George W. Bush on the occasion of donating Theodore Roosevelt’s Medal of Honor to the White House. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2002-09-16

Creator(s)

Unknown